Denis Leary
Denis Colin O'Leary (born August 18, 1957) is an American actor, comedian, singer, writer and producer. Leary was the star and co-creator of Rescue Me, which ended its seventh and final season on September 7, 2011. He has starred in many films including playing Captain George Stacy in Marc Webb's film, The Amazing Spider-Man, Cleveland Browns Head Coach Vince Penn in Ivan Reitman's film, Draft Day, and as the voice of Francis in A Bug's Life and Diego in the Ice Age franchise. From 2015 to 2016, Leary wrote and starred in the comedy series, Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll on FX. Early life Denis Colin Leary was born on August 18, 1957, in Worcester, Massachusetts, the son of Roman Catholic immigrant parents from County Kerry, Ireland. His mother, Nora (née Sullivan) (b. 1929), was a maid, and his father, John Leary (1924–1985), was an auto mechanic. Being the son of Irish parents, Leary is a citizen of both the United States and Ireland. Through marriage,Leary is a third cousin of talk show host Conan O'Brien. He attended Saint Peter's High School (now Saint Peter-Marian High School), in Worcester and graduated from Emerson College, in Boston. At Emerson, he met fellow comic Mario Cantone, whom to this day Leary considers his closest friend. At the school, he founded the Emerson Comedy Workshop, a troupe that continues on-campus today. After graduating with the Emerson Class of 1981, he took a job at the school teaching comedy writing classes and maintained the job for five years. He received an honorary doctorate and spoke briefly at his alma mater's undergraduate commencement ceremony on May 16, 2005; he is thus credited as Dr. Denis Leary on the cover of his 2009 book, Why We Suck. Career Leary began working as a comedian in the Boston comedy scene of the 1980s at the underground club, Play It Again Sam's; however, his first real gig was at the Rascals Comedy Club as part of the TV show, The Rascals Comedy Hour, on October 18, 1990. He wrote and appeared on a local comedy series, The Late, Late Show, hosted by his friend, Lenny Clarke, and written by writer, Martin Olson. Leary and Clarke both spoke about their early affiliations and influences in the Boston comedy scene in the documentary film, When Standup Stood Out (2006), and during this time, he developed his stage persona. He appeared in skits on the MTV game show Remote Control, playing such characters as Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, the brother of co-host Colin Quinn, and artist Andy Warhol. Filmography Film Television Video games Discography * 1993: No Cure for Cancer * 1993: "Asshole" * 1997: Lock 'n Load * 2004: Merry F#%$in' Christmas * 2009: "At the Rehab" * 2011: "Douchebag" * 2012: "Kiss My Ass" Bibliography * 1992: No Cure for Cancer, Anchor Books ISBN 0385425813 * 2007: Rescue Me: Uncensored: The Official Companion, Newmarket Press ISBN 978-1557047915 * 2008: Why We Suck: A Feel Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid, Viking ISBN 978-0-670-03160-3 * 2010: Suck on This Year: LYFAO @ 140 Characters or Less, Viking ISBN 978-0-670-02289-2 * 2012: Denis Leary's Merry F#%$in' Christmas, Running Press ISBN 0762447621 * 2017: Why We Don't Suck: And How All of Us Need to Stop Being Such Partisan Little Bitches, Crown Archetype ISBN 978-1524762735 Awards External links * Denis Leary on IMDb Category:Actors Category:Living people